MMIC distributed amplifier gate control using active bias

ABSTRACT

An active bias is formed on a wafer which an electrical circuit is formed and produces a biasing voltage applied to an input signal which is additionally applied to the electrical circuit. In particular, the active bias may comprise at least one transistor, and is preferably, the same type of transistor forming the electrical circuit such that wafer lot variations affecting the electrical circuit may correspondingly affect the characteristics of the active bias. The active bias may comprise one field effect transistor with its drain electrically connected to the output of the electrical circuit. Additionally, the drain may be electrically connected to the gate of the transistor. In this regard, the current through the transistor may produce a voltage at the drain of transistor and respectively at the gate of the transistor. This voltage may then be applied to the electrical circuit as the biasing voltage. In this circuit, the current through the transistor will vary due to wafer lot variations and as a result, will correspondingly change the biasing voltage to be applied to the electrical circuit. The active bias may additionally comprise additional transistors wherein the channels of each transistor are electrically connected to the gates of the other transistor. In this regard, the current through the transistors are regulated by each other to prevent the transistors from having an excessive increase or decrease in current flowing therethrough.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.10/690,090, filed Oct. 21, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,912.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally related to a bias circuit which mayprovide a biasing voltage to biased circuit, and more particularly, isrelated to a bias circuit that may provide a biasing voltage that variesaccordingly to changed characteristics of the biased circuit due toprocess variations.

FIG. 1 illustrates a distributed amplifier and a passive gate bias. Thedistributed amplifier is formed on a wafer, whereas the passive gatebias is formed on a circuit board which receives the distributedamplifier chip. Since the distributed amplifier is formed on a wafer,the distributed amplifier may have characteristics which may varybecause of wafer lot to wafer lot variations. One such variation may bequiescent points of transistors which make up the distributed amplifier.To compensate for this variation, oftentimes, the passive gate bias isconnected to the distributed amplifier. In the circuit shown in FIG. 1,the distributed amplifier receives an input signal at gates of thetransistors. If the distributed amplifier was formed as designed andbehaves as designed, then the input signal may not need to be biased.However, due to the wafer lot variations and the resulting differingcharacteristics in the amplifier, the input signal may need to be biasedsuch that the transistors of the distributed amplifier operate at itsquiescent point. As such, the passive gate bias is applied to the gatesof the transistors to apply the biasing voltage to the input signal. Inmanufacturing, the distributed amplifier is tested during assembly todetermine the amount of the wafer lot variation, and then theappropriate passive gate bias is selected to compensate for thevariation. The passive gate bias shown in FIG. 1 is a resistive voltagedivider and in this respect, appropriate resistor values are selected tocompensate for the wafer lot variations. The purpose of the resistivevoltage divider is to bias the input signal to the distributed amplifiersuch that the distributed amplifier may operate at its quiescent point.

This process of selecting proper resistors is very time consuming andinefficient in that at the least a statistical sampling must be done onthe distributed amplifier of a particular wafer lot such that properresistors are selected for the resistor voltage divider. Additionally,this process relies on a person to make a repetitive process whichcreates the possibility of error.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved bias which may account forthe wafer lot to wafer lot variations. As will be shown, an aspect ofthis invention is to design an active bias which is formed on the waferwhich the distributed amplifier is formed on to thereby impart the waferlot variations onto both the distributed amplifier and also the activebias.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of the present invention, an active bias is providedwhich may be operative to apply a biasing voltage to an input signal.The input signal may then be applied to the input of a distributedamplifier. The biasing voltage which is applied to the input signal maybe necessary such that the distributed amplifier may operate at itslinearity point. The linearity point of the distributed amplifier occurswhen an output signal of the distributed amplifier is linear incomparison to the input signal. If the biasing voltage was not appliedby the active bias to the input signal then the input signal may have apeak or valley applied to gates of the distributed amplifier transistorswhich creates a situation where the channels of the transistors arepinched off such that there is an absence of an output signal or thechannels of transistors of the distributed amplifier are saturated. Ifeither the saturation or pinch-off situation occurs within thetransistors of the distributed amplifier then the output signal may havea wave form wherein the peaks and valleys of the wave form are clippedoff. The active bias which is the subject of the present invention isdesigned to reduce the possibility that the output signal is not linearwith the input signal because of the possible pinch-off or saturationsituation, as discussed above.

The active bias may comprise first, second and third resistorselectrically connected to each other and to respective positive andnegative voltage sources. The serially connected first, second and thirdresistors may additionally be connected to a first transistor whichdefines a gate, a source, and a drain. In particular, the drain of thefirst transistor may be electrically connected to the first and secondresistor at their junction. The source of the first transistor may beelectrically connected to a fourth resistor and subsequently to thenegative voltage source, and the gate of the first transistor may beelectrically connected to Rstability and subsequently electricallyconnected to the negative voltage source. In this regard, the currentflowing through the first resistor is bifurcated through the drain andsource of the first transistor. Additionally, this current is a functionof the characteristics of the first transistor which is affected by thewafer lot variations when the active bias is formed on the wafer. Whenthe wafer lot variations cause the transistors of the distributedamplifier to draw more current, the wafer lot variations will cause thefirst transistor to draw a corresponding amount of increased current.However, due to the circuitry or the electrical connections between theresistors and the first transistors, the increased draw of currentthrough the first transistor will increase the current through the firstresistor. Through basic ohm's law, the voltage drop across the firstresistor is corresponding increased to correspondingly reduce Vout afterthe voltage drop across the second resistor. This voltage may bereferred to as the biasing voltage and may be directly or indirectlyapplied to the input signal to properly bias the input signal such thatthe distributed amplifier may operate at its linearity point. Thisbiasing voltage may have a negative or positive value. If a negativebiasing voltage is desired, then a negative voltage should be applied tothe second resistor with a positive voltage applied to the firstresistor.

In an ideal state, the biasing voltage is easily predictable given setfirst, second and third resistors, first transistor and respectivevoltages. However, it is within the scope of the present invention thatthe active bias be formed on a wafer to account for wafer lotvariations. As discussed in the background of the present invention, theabove described components of the active bias when formed on the wafermay have variations from wafer lot to wafer lot. In this regard,although the components are formed on a wafer, the biasing voltageprovided by the active bias may vary from wafer lot to wafer lot.Typically, this varying biasing voltage may not be useful to bias theinput signal applied to the distributed amplifier. But, since thecircuitry of the distributed amplifier which may include a plurality orat least one transistor that also varies in its characteristic fromwafer lot to wafer lot, it has been found that the variations from waferlot to wafer lot that affect the circuitry of the distributed amplifierproportionally affects the circuitry of the active bias. As such,although the biasing voltage provided by the active bias may vary, sincethe voltage or biasing voltage varies proportionally with respect to thedistributed amplifier, the active bias may provide the biasing voltageor a proper biasing voltage to the input signal.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the active bias maycomprise a first resistor, a first transistor which defines a gate, asource, and a drain, and a second resistor wherein the first resistor,the drain and source of the first transistor, and the second resistorare serially connected to each other. The gate of the first transistormay be electrically connected to drain of the first transistor, and inthis regard, the voltage at the drain of the first transistor may beequal to the voltage at the gate of the first transistor. Through basicohm's law, the voltage at the drain of the first transistor (i.e., thebiasing voltage) may be designed with the proper biasing voltagecorresponding to the distributed amplifier by careful selection of thevalues for the first resistor and the second resistor, first transistorhaving a selective characteristic, and the values for the voltagesapplied to the first resistor and the second resistor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the active biasdescribed in the prior embodiment may further include a secondtransistor. This second transistor defines a gate, a source, and adrain. The second transistor gate may be connected to the firsttransistor drain such that the channel of the second transistor is afunction of the voltage at the drain of the first transistor. The drainof the second transistor may be connected to the positive voltage. And,the sources of the second and third transistors may be seriallyconnected with a third resistor and a forth resistor, respectively,which are subsequently connected to the negative voltage. The circuitrydescribed above switches the biasing current from the current that flowsthrough the first transistor through the current that flows through thesecond transistor. In particular, the current that flow through thesecond transistor proceeds through the forth resistor. The source of thesecond transistor is connected between the fourth resistor and is thebiasing voltage provided by the active bias to the input signal. Thefirst transistor and the second transistor may have a p-type channel ora n-type channel, an excess current that flows through the firsttransistor may reduce the current through the second transistor so as toreduce the amount of current flowing through the first transistor byconstricting the channel of the first transistor. Eventually, the activebias will settle to provide the proper biasing voltage.

The above described active bias having two transistors may further beimproved with the following sink circuit, stabilizer circuit, andcurrent source. The sink circuit may be at least one resistor and atleast one diode serially connected to each other which are connected tothe negative voltage. The sink circuit may additionally be connected tothe biasing voltage and may be operative to sink any leakage currentthat may flow through or from the transistors of the distributedamplifier, specifically, through the gates of the transistors of thedistributed amplifiers. The stabilizing circuit may be a capacitorconnected serially to a resistor which in turn connects the gates anddrains of the first and second transistors. In this regard, thestabilizing circuit eliminates any feedback elements so as to reduce thepossibility that the circuit may oscillate. The current source may bethird and fourth transistors having its sources connected to the thirdand fourth resistor which are respectively connected to the gates oftheir respective transistor and the negative voltage. In this regard,the transistors may not limit the amount of current that may flowtherethrough. The drains of the current source may be connected torespective first transistor and second transistor. In this regard, thepossibility of the first transistor and the second transistor shuttingdown is eliminated or reduced.

It has been found that the active bias has a circuit which may be ahigh-impedance circuit. In this regard, the positive voltage may besupplied by the output signal of the distributed amplifier prior to theblocking capacitor. Since the active bias is a high-impedance circuit,the active bias may be transparent to the output signal of thedistributed amplifier. In other words, the load of the active bias isnot sufficient to significantly affect the output signal.

In an aspect of the present invention, an electrical circuit isprovided. The electrical circuit may comprise an amplifier circuit andan active bias circuit which are both formed on a wafer. The amplifiercircuit may have a designed input biasing voltage for operating theamplifier circuit in an optimal range (e.g., linear range, etc.). Theamplifier circuit may also have a required input biasing voltage offsetto operate the amplifier circuit in the optimal range due to wafer lotvariations.

The active bias circuit may be in electrical communication with theamplifier circuit. The active bias circuit may have a designed outputbiasing voltage and an actual output biasing voltage offset due to thewafer lot variations. The actual output biasing voltage offset may beproportional to the required input biasing voltage offset such thatamplifier circuit operates in the optimal range, notwithstanding waferlot variations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention isshown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art distributed amplifier circuit which maybe formed on a wafer and electrically connected to a passive gate biasformed on a circuit board which receives the wafer;

FIG. 2 illustrates an active bias formed on the wafer which thedistributed amplifier shown in FIG. 1 is formed on to compensate forwafer lot variations;

FIG. 3 illustrates an active bias with transistors similar to thetransistors of the distributed amplifier such that the variationsaffecting the distributed amplifier due to wafer lot variations alsoaffect the active bias;

FIG. 4 illustrates the active bias with a Q2 transistor connected to theQ1 transistor to compensate for an extreme increase or decreased incurrents through channels of Q1 and Q2 transistors; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the active bias of FIG. 3 with a stabilizing circuitand current sources to improve the stability of the active bias.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating the preferredembodiments of the present invention and not for the purpose of limitingthe same. For example, in FIG. 1, a distributed amplifier 2 designedwith pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (pHEMT) 4 isshown. The pHEMT 4 may be connected to an active bias 10 which is anaspect of the present invention. Nonetheless, the active bias 10, thesubject matter of the present invention, may be connected to other typesof distributed amplifiers or electrical circuits designed with othertypes of transistors such as Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT) and allof the various types of FETs and other similar components such asJunction Field Effect Transistor (JFET), Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor FieldEffect Transistor (MOSFET), Metal-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor(MESFET), High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT), and pseudomorphicHigh Electron Mobility Transistor (pHEMT).

The following is a general description of the distributed amplifier 2and its input and output signals 6, 8. The distributed amplifier 2, asshown in FIG. 1, may be a four stage distributed amplifier 2. Withineach stage may be two pHEMT 4 in a cascode configuration. In particular,a drain of a first pHEMT may be connected to a source of a second pHEMT,and gates 9 of the first pHEMTs may receive an input signal. The inputsignal 6 may be applied to the gates 9 of the first pHEMTs within eachstage. The distributed amplifier 2 may produce an amplified outputsignal 8 in relation to the input signal 6 at drains of the secondpHEMTs of each stage. A blocking capacitor may be placed at the output 8of the distributed amplifier 2 (i.e., after the fourth stage) to passthe output alternating current (AC) signal but block any direct current.The input and amplified output signals 6, 8 may be in the range of radiofrequencies.

The distributed amplifier 2 may have a linearity point which is thepoint at which the output signal 8 is linear with the input signal 6.However, due to wafer lot variations, the linearity point of theamplifier 2 may vary and the input signal 6 may overdrive thedistributed amplifier 2 such that the amplifier 2 may not behavelinearly at certain instances. For example, the input signal 6 may havea peak voltage which is greater than the pinch off voltage, and in thisinstance, will produce an output signal 8 whose wave is at leastpartially clipped off. To compensate, the input signal 6 may be biasedwith a biasing voltage to bias the input signal 6 such that thedistributed amplifier 2 may be operated at its linearity point and notbe overdriven. Through experimentation, the distributed amplifier 2shown in FIG. 1 may operate at its linearity point when the input signal6 is biased with −0.4 volt. The −0.4 volts may be considered to be adesigned biasing voltage which may be provided to the distributedamplifier 2 to bias the distributed amplifier 2 such that the same mayoperate at its linearity point. However, when the distributed amplifier2 is formed on a wafer, the wafer lot variations may cause thedistributed amplifier 2 to draw less current compared to a designedcurrent. In this instance, the actual biasing voltage may be increasedto a level greater than the designed biasing voltage. The designedbiasing voltage may be considered to be the desired biasing voltage inan ideal state.

FIG. 2 illustrates, which illustrates a first embodiment of the presentinvention, an active bias 10 which includes +Vdd 12, first, second,third and fourth resistors 14, 16, 18, 20, a stability resistor 22, anda first transistor 24. When the first transistor 24 draws a current,there is a voltage drop across the first resistor 14. The second andthird resistors 16, 18 may behave as a resistive voltage divider whosevalues are selected based on the current through the first, second andthird resistors 14, 16, 18, and the voltage of −Vss 26. The resistivevoltage divider may provide the biasing voltage Vout 28 which may besubsequently applied to or in electrical communication with the gates ofthe distributed amplifier transistors. The voltage at a source 30 of thefirst transistor 24 may be set by the current through first resistor 14,fourth resistor 20 and −Vss 26. A gate 32 of first transistor 24 may beset at −Vss 26. The stability resistor may be a high value resistorconnected in series to the gate 32 of the first transistor 24 to reducethe possibility of the first transistor 24 oscillating.

This active bias 10 may provide a biasing voltage (Vout) 28 to the inputsignal 6 applied to the distributed amplifier 2 such that thedistributed amplifier 2 may operate at its linearity point. The V_(OUT)28 of the active bias 10 may be designed to produce a designed biasingvoltage 28 by selecting the appropriate first, second, third and fourthresistors 14, 16, 18, 20 and including the stability resistor 22, inaddition to providing the appropriate voltages +Vdd 12 and −Vss 26, andproperly designing the first transistor 24. For example, the distributedamplifier 2 may be expected to draw current which may be referred to asa designed current draw. When the distributed amplifier 2 is formed onthe wafer, the wafer lot variations may cause the distributed amplifier2 to actually draw an increased or decreased amount of current comparedto the designed current draw. It is this variation that the active bias10 may compensate for such that the distributed amplifier 2 may operateat its linearity point. Even though there may be variations in thedistributed amplifier 2 due to the wafer lot variations to requiredifferent biasing voltages, the active bias 10 may provide anappropriate increased or decreased biasing voltage (Vout) 28 as afunction of the varying characteristics of the distributed amplifier 2.This compensation may be accomplished by forming the active bias 10 onwafer which the distributed amplifier 2 is formed such that thevariations in the distributed amplifier 2 due to the wafer lotvariations are also imparted onto the active bias 10. In particular, ifthe distributed amplifier 2 draws more current than designed then theactive bias 10 may draw a corresponding amount of increased current anddue to the circuitry of the active bias 10 may provide a proportionallyreduced biasing voltage Vout 28 to the input signal 6. This provides theactive characteristic of the active bias 10.

In use, the distributed amplifier 2 when formed on the wafer may draw anincreased or decreased amount of current due to the wafer lot variationscompared to the designed current draw. In the instance when more currentis drawn through the distributed amplifier 2, the input signal 6 ispreferably biased with a reduced biasing voltage 28 compared to thedesigned biasing voltage 28. In this regard, the active bias 10 of thepresent invention is designed to produce that reduced biasing voltage28. This may be accomplished as stated above by forming the active bias10 on the wafer which the distributed amplifier 2 is formed such thatwafer lot variations affect the active bias 10 and the distributedamplifier 2 equally.

As shown in FIG. 2, the active bias 10 may be formed with the firsttransistor 24. And, more preferably, the first transistor 24 may be thesame type of transistor compared to the transistors of the distributedamplifier 2 such that the wafer lot variations may affect thedistributed amplifier 2 and the active bias 10 to the same degree. Forexample, if the distributed amplifier 2 draws more current when it isformed on the wafer compared to the designed current, then the firsttransistor 24 of the active bias 10 may draw more current compared tothe designed current draw of the active bias 10. The circuitry of theactive bias 10 causes the actual biasing voltage Vout 28 to be lowercompared to the designed Vout 28 of the active bias 10. In particular,when the first transistor 24 draws more current, the current passingthrough the first resistor 14 may be greater than the designed current,and the voltage drop across the first resistor 14 may be greater than adesigned voltage drop across the first resistor 14. This in turn willcause the resistive voltage divider to produce an actual biasing voltage28, Vout less than the designed biasing voltage 28, Vout. The differencein the designed current through the first transistor 24 from the actualcurrent flowing through the first transistor 24 may be proportionallymatched to the difference in the designed biasing voltage 28 to theactual biasing voltage 28 that needs to be applied to the distributedamplifier 2 to properly operate the distributed amplifier 2 at itslinearity point. This description of the active bias 10 was made inrelation to the situation where the wafer lot variation causes thedistributed amplifier 2 and the active bias 10 to draw more currentcompared to the designed current. The active characteristics of theactive bias 10 in relation to the distributed amplifier 2 may operatereciprocally when the wafer lot variation causes the distributedamplifier 2 and the active bias 10 to draw less current compared to thedesigned current.

The −Vss 26 shown in FIG. 2 has a negative voltage. This negativevoltage at −Vss 26 was required because the distributed amplifier 2shown in FIG. 1 operates at its linearity point when the input signal 6is biased with a negative voltage. However, the distributed amplifier 2shown in FIG. 1 is for the purposes of illustration and not for thepurpose of limiting the preferred embodiments of the present invention.As such, if a different distributed amplifier 2 requires a positivebiasing voltage 28 for the distributed amplifier 2 to operate at itslinearity point, then Vss may be grounded or have a positive voltage.

Prior to discussing the second embodiment of the present invention whichis illustrated in FIG. 4, the circuit shown in FIG. 3 will be discussedand subsequently contrasted with the first embodiment and the circuitshown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 3, the first transistor 24 a is shown with itsgate 32 a and drain 34 a in electrical communication with each other.Additionally, the drain 34 a is electrically connected to a firstresistor 14 a and a positive voltage, +Vdd 12, and the source 30 a iselectrically connected to a second resistor 16 a and a negative voltage,−Vss 26. In this circuit, when a current is drawn through the firsttransistor 24 a, there is a voltage drop across the first resistor 14 awhich results in producing a voltage at the drain 34 a of the firsttransistor 24 a. Since the drain 34 a and gate 32 a are in electricalcommunication with each other, the voltage at the drain 34 a of thefirst transistor may be applied to the input signal 6. This circuit issimilar to the first embodiment of the present invention in that thecurrent through the first transistor 24 a may increase when thedistributed amplifier 2 draws more current compared to the designedcurrent. Additionally, due to the increased current draw, the voltagedrop across the first resistor 14 a increases and produces a lowerbiasing voltage Vout 28 a. However, in this circuit, Vout 28 is highlysensitive to the value of the second resistor 16 a whose resistancevalue changes due to process variation or heat. Additionally, if thecurrent through the first transistor 24 a due to wafer lot variations isexcessive either in the positive or negative direction, the firsttransistor 24 a may become damaged and fail to conduct any currenttherethrough. In this instance, Vout, the biasing voltage 28, may equal+Vdd 12 and cause damage to the distributed amplifier 2.

To reduce the likelihood of the failure of the first transistor 24 a andto reduce the sensitivity of the biasing voltage 28 a to the resistancevalue of the second resistor 16 a, the circuit shown in FIG. 3 may bemodified with a second transistor 36 b and three resistors 18 b, 20 b,38 b. As shown in FIG. 4, the two transistors 24 a, 36 b areelectrically connected to each other such that the source 40 b of thesecond transistor 36 b is electrically connected to the gate 32 a of thefirst transistor 24 a, and the drain 34 a of the first transistor 24 ais electrically connected to the gate 42 b of the second transistor 36b. In this circuit, the current through the second transistor 36 bprovides the current which determines the biasing voltage 28 rather thana voltage drop across the first resistor 14 a. As such, a high currentor shut off condition is eliminated from the circuit shown in FIG. 3.

If when the active bias 10 is formed on the wafer the current throughthe second transistor 36 b and the first transistor 24 a is greater thanthe designed current, then the voltage drop across 18 b will be greaterthan the designed voltage drop to produce a lower voltage at Vgate 42 bof the second transistor 40 b. This reduces the voltage at the source 40b of the second transistor and reduces the biasing voltage Vout 28.Additionally, the three resistors 20 b, 38 b, 18 b may be selected suchthat the current through the second transistor 36 b and the voltage atthe source 40 b of the second transistor 36 b may be varied at adifferent rate than the first transistor 24 a, thus providingappropriate biasing voltage 28 compensation over the wafer lotvariation.

In another aspect of the present invention, a stabilizer circuit 44 maybe connected to the active bias 10, as shown in FIG. 5. For example, thestabilizing circuit may comprise a resistor 46 and capacitor 48connected in series between the gate 42 b and drain 50 b of the secondtransistor 36 b. The stabilizer circuit 44 may be connected to each ofthe gates 42 b, 32 a and drains 50 b, 34 a of the second and firsttransistors 36 b, 24 a. This drains feedback elements on the second andfirst transistors 36 b, 24 a which limits the gain of the second andfirst transistors 36 b, 24 a and ensures the stability of the second andfirst transistors 36 b, 24 a.

In another aspect of the present invention, a sink circuit 52 may beconnected to the active bias 10. The sink circuit 52 may be at least oneresistor 54 and at least one diode 56 a, 56 b, 56 c connected in serieswith one terminal connected to −Vss and the other terminal connectedbetween the fourth and fifth resistor 20 b, 38 b. The sink circuit 52may be operative to sink any current that may flow out from thetransistors gates of the distributed amplifier 2. This transistor gatecurrent may be characterized as including leakage current between thejunctions of the transistor.

In another aspect of the present invention, the active bias 10 may beconnected to a resistive voltage divider 58. This resistive voltagedivider 58 is not selected as a function of the wafer variations of thedistributed amplifier 2 as discussed in the background. Rather, thisresistive voltage divider 58 may be additionally connected to the activebias 10 when the fourth and fifth resistors 20 b, 38 b are not capableof providing the proper biasing voltage 28. Hence, whereas the prior artpassive bias in the form of a resistive voltage divider was a functionof the wafer variations affecting the distributed amplifier 2, theresistive voltage divider 58 which is an aspect of the present inventionmay be a function of the active bias 10.

In another aspect of the present invention, the active bias 10 may beconnected to current sources 60 a, 60 b. For example, the sources 40 b,30 a of the second and first transistors 36 b, 24 a may be connected tothird and fourth transistors 62, 64. These transistors 62, 64 may haveits gates 66 a, 66 b connected to −Vss 26. In this regard, the channelsof the third and fourth transistors 62, 64 may be wide open such thatthe full amount of current may flow through the channels to reduce thepossibility that the second and first transistors 36 b, 24 a may not beturned off or pinched off. Additionally, for the same reasons thatcurrent sources 60 a, 60 b may be connected to the active bias 10, thethird and fourth resistors 20 b, 38 b of the active bias 10 shown inFIG. 4 may be replaced with diodes 56 d–f and 56 g–h to eliminate thepossibility of excess build up of voltage on the source 40 b of thesecond transistor 36 b.

This description of the various embodiments of the present invention ispresented to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, and other inventive concepts may be otherwise variouslyembodied and employed. The appended claims are intended to be construedto include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

1. An amplifier comprising: a. at least one transistor having an inputoperative to receive an input signal and to amplify the input signal toan output signal which is delivered to an output, the transistor beingformed on a wafer; and b. an active bias circuit comprising first andsecond field effect transistors (FETs), each FET having a channelconnected to a gate of the other FET to regulate an amount of currentflowing through the channels of the first and second FETs, a currentflowing through the second FET sets the biasing voltage at the gate ofthe first FET, the active bias circuit being formed on the wafer toproportionally compensate for variations in the transistor and theactive bias circuit as a result of wafer lot to wafer lot variations. 2.The amplifier of claim 1 further comprising a resistive voltage dividerconnected to the channel of first FET to adjust the biasing voltage atthe gate of the first FET.
 3. The amplifier of claim 1 comprising a sinkcircuit connected to the gate of the first FET to sink any leakagecurrent from the transistor.
 4. The amplifier of claim 2 wherein thesink circuit is a resistor and at least one diode connected in series.5. An electrical circuit comprising: a. a transistor formed on a waferhaving a designed input biasing voltage for operating the transistor inan optimal range, the transistor having a required input biasing voltageoffset to operate the transistor in the optimal range due to wafer lotvariations; and b. an active bias circuit formed on the wafer inelectrical communication with the transistor, the active bias circuithaving a designed output biasing voltage and an actual output biasingvoltage offset due to the wafer lot variations, the actual outputbiasing voltage offset being proportional to the required input biasingvoltage offset of the transistor such that the amplifier circuitoperates in the optimal range, notwithstanding wafer lot variations. 6.The electrical circuit of claim 5 wherein the active bias circuitcomprises: i) first and second field effect transistors (FETs), each FEThaving a channel connected to a gate of the other FET to regulate anamount of current flowing through the channels of the first and secondFETs, the source of the second FET connected to the input of thetransistor to bias the transistor with the biasing voltage; ii. whereinan actual current draw of the transistor and FETs of the active biascircuit is greater or less than the designed current draw of thetransistor and FETS due to wafer lot variations, and the increased ordecreased current draw through the first FET produces a lower or highervoltage, respectively, at the gate of the second FET to respectivelyreduce or increase the voltage at the source of the second FET such thatthe actual output biasing voltage of the active bias circuit hascompensated for wafer lot variations.
 7. An electrical circuitcomprising: a. a wafer b. an electrical circuit formed on the wafer; c.an active bias circuit formed on the wafer to compensate for variationsin the electrical circuit and the active bias circuit as a result ofwafer lot to wafer lot variations; wherein the active bias circuitcomprises: first and second field effect trasistors (FETs), each Fethaving a channel connected to a gate of the other FET to regulate anamount of current flowing through the channels of the first and secondFETs, a current flowing through the second FET sets the basing voltageat the gate of the first FET.